Taki Inoue

Taki Inoue

Born	5 September 1963 Kobe. Hyōgo
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Active years	1994–1995
Teams	Simtek, Footwork
Entries	18
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1995 Australian Grand Prix

Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上 隆智穂 Inoue Takachiho,^[1] born 5 September 1963) is a Japanese racing driver.

Biography

Inoue was born in Kobe. He competed in the British Formula Ford Championship in 1988, followed by a spell in All-Japan Formula Three from 1989 to 1993 and a season in the International Formula 3000 championship in 1994.

Formula One

Inoue's damaged car is towed back to the pits after his bizarre practice accident at the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix.

He participated in 18 Formula One Grand Prix races, making his first appearance on 6 November 1994 at the Japanese Grand Prix for Simtek. He scored no championship points, was considered a pay driver, and is perhaps best remembered for two bizarre incidents while driving for Footwork in 1995. The first occurred after a practice session at Monaco, when his stalled car was being towed back to the pits when it was hit by a course car, driven by Jean Ragnotti, causing it to roll into the barriers, although Inoue was fit to race the next day. The second happened in Hungary on live TV worldwide – attempting to assist the marshals in putting out the engine fire which had forced him out of the race, a vehicle driven to the scene by a marshal hit him, injuring his leg, although he recovered for the next race.^[2]

Inoue driving for Footwork at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

For most of the season his team-mate was Gianni Morbidelli, but late in the season Max Papis replaced Morbidelli, and was sometimes outpaced by Inoue.

Entering the 1996 season, Inoue lobbied Tyrrell for a drive, but the team chose Ukyo Katayama with his Mild Seven sponsorship money from Japan Tobacco.^[3] Instead, he was announced in January to drive for the Minardi team.^[1] However, one of his personal sponsors pulled out at the last minute and Inoue withdrew from F1. Minardi took on Giancarlo Fisichella instead.^[4] Fisichella, the team's test driver in 1995, had backing from Marlboro Italy.^[5]

With his sponsorship reduced, Inoue was out of a drive in Formula One. After a brief switch to sportscars, he retired from racing at the end of 1999 and now manages drivers in his own country.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
1994	Super Nova Racing	SIL 15	PAU Ret	CAT 13	PER 13	HOC 12	SPA 14	EST 9	MAG Ret	NC	0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1994	MTV Simtek Ford	Simtek S941	Ford V8	BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN Ret	AUS		NC	0
1995	Footwork Hart	Footwork FA16	Hart V8	BRA Ret	ARG Ret	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	CAN 9	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 12	ITA 8	POR 15	EUR Ret	PAC Ret	JPN 12	AUS Ret	NC	0

References

1. Grand Prix.com - Inoue joins Minardi http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns00478.html
2. "Taki Inoue - Biography". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
3. Grand Prix.com, Katayama at Tyrrell again - http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns00507.html
4. "F1 News > Minardi to get Fisichella?".
5. Grand Prix.com, Five drivers bidding for Minardi - http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns00435.html

External links

• Taki Inoue on Twitter